MailRules vs SaneBox
Both sort mail on the server and work with almost any provider. SaneBox decides what's important by learning from your behaviour; MailRules follows rules you write in your own words.
| MailRules | SaneBox | |
|---|---|---|
| How it decides | Rules you write in plain English, typed or dictated, plus exact conditions where you want them. Each decision shows the rule, a confidence and a one-line reason. | Learns importance from how you treat email: what you open, reply to and how quickly. You train it by moving emails between folders. |
| Custom filters | Intent ("recruiters I haven't replied to") or exact conditions on sender, domain, recipient, subject, body text, any header, attachments, size or age. Mix both in one rule. | Subject-line filters (begins with, contains, ends with) and domain filters that send mail to a SaneBox folder. |
| What it reads | Sender, subject and a few signals, plus the first 2,000 characters of plain text when a model is needed. With Ollama, nothing leaves your machine. | Header data only; it says it never reads or stores email bodies. |
| Mail providers | Any IMAP mailbox with an app password: iCloud, Fastmail, Yahoo, Zoho, Gmail or your own server. One-click Gmail and Outlook sign-in is planned for every cloud plan. | Works with any email service, including Gmail, Exchange, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud and Fastmail. |
| Accounts | Unlimited when self-hosted. Planned cloud plans: 3 on Personal, 10 on Pro. | 1, 2 or 4 accounts, depending on the plan. |
| Self-hosting | Yes. One Go binary with SQLite, open source under AGPL-3.0. | Hosted only. SaneBox keeps your encrypted credentials on its own servers. |
| Price | Self-hosting is free; you pay your model provider. Hosted cloud is coming: Personal $5 a month, Pro $10 a month. | Snack, Lunch and Dinner plans: $9.49, $15.99 or $42.99 a month, or $65, $109 or $319 a year (US prices). 7-day free trial. |
Rules you write, or habits it learns
SaneBox watches how you handle email and decides what’s important from that. By default, email from real people stays in your inbox and the rest moves to a SaneLater folder. If you want something specific, like receipts but not shipping updates, or recruiters unless you’ve replied before, MailRules lets you say it in a sentence. It turns that into a rule and shows how many recent emails the rule would have matched before you save it.
What happens when it’s unsure
Both move mail into folders on your server, so every mail app sees the result. In MailRules, an email below your confidence threshold isn’t moved at all. It stays in your inbox and waits in Needs review with a suggested rule. Every action has a one-line reason, and you can undo it for 30 days.
Hosted or on your own server
SaneBox is hosted only. MailRules is open source: run it free on your own server with your own model key, or with Ollama so no email goes to an outside model. A hosted version is coming for people who don’t want to run anything.
When SaneBox is the better pick
Pick SaneBox if you don't want to write rules at all and would rather it learn from what you open and answer. It also sends a daily digest, has iOS and Android apps, and offers reminders and snoozing. If you'd rather no email body text reach any AI model, SaneBox looks at headers only. And it needs no server of your own.
Questions
Can I write my own rules in SaneBox?
You can add subject-keyword and domain filters. Most sorting comes from what SaneBox learns about your habits. MailRules is built around rules you write in plain English.
Do I have to train MailRules?
No. You tell it what you want. When it gets one wrong, you fix it in one click and it can remember that sender.
Does MailRules read my email bodies?
Only when a model is needed, and then only the first 2,000 characters of plain text. Sender rules and conditions run with no model at all.
Do both work with iCloud?
Yes. Both connect to iCloud with an app-specific password.
Is MailRules cheaper than SaneBox?
Self-hosting is free, apart from your model costs. The planned cloud plans start at $5 a month.